Field Hockey Takes Down #25 W&M

NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion field hockey team (2-1) defeated No. 25 William & Mary (1-2) by the score of 3-1 on Tuesday evening at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.

Three different Monarchs found the back of the net, the first coming off the stick of Jess Miller in the game’s 11thminute. Erin Huffman took a shot off of a corner opportunity that was saved, but Miller was there for the rebound and found the back of the net for the early lead.

The Monarchs defense kept the Tribe away from sophomore goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray, as William & Mary failed to take a penalty corner or a shot in the first 30 minutes of action. ODU went into the halftime locker room with a 1-0 advantage.

Eight minutes into the second half, senior Rebecca Birch inserted a penalty corner to Marlee McClendon, who then dumped it off to Huffman who deposited it into the net for her first goal of the season.

The Tribe’s offense got aggressive in the game’s final quarter, as they shot six of their 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of play.

Five of W&M’s fourth-quarter shots came within seven minutes out of the intermission, but the Tribe couldn’t connect for a goal, and MacGillivray turned aside two of the attempts.

With just over seven minutes left in the game, Birch scored an insurance goal on yet another penalty corner opportunity. McClendon and sophomore Riley Taylor assisted the goal, to give the Monarchs a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Tribe got on the board one minute later, as Christie van de Kamp earned a penalty shot and whipped it past MacGillivray for her team’s only goal of the contest. The Monarchs rolled to the victory, 3-1.

All three of the Monarch goals came off of penalty corner opportunities. In total, ODU tallied seven penalty corners and held W&M to just three. ODU also held a 14-10 shot advantage as well.

Huffman ended the game with a goal and an assist, with seven shots, five of which were on goal. Birch also collected a goal and an assist, while McClendon assisted on two scores.

The Monarchs hit the road for five-straight away contests, starting with a game against Penn State on Friday, September 13. The initial pass-back is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.